One of my fondest childhood memories is going with my Dad to the hardware store. Actually, in Glasgow, Virginia, the hardware store was also the general store. If you were lucky enough to have lived long enough to have a memory of life before Home Depot and Lowe’s, then you know what I’m talking about.

First, there’s the building. Two or three steps up on worn treads that went the length of the structure. A narrow porch and through two tall windowed doorways into a darkened and deep space that seemed to stretch out to forever with shelves and shelves of everything you would ever possibly need. And ahhhhh! the smell… Sawdust, nails, sweet feed, seeds and tobacco. I remember the bins of nails and screws. They looked so luscious! I wanted to sink my hands into them, cupping the nails as if they were water but OUCH! These stores were tactile. They were sensory-overload potential. They were warm, and people knew your name and offered you an ice cream sandwich or nutty-buddy from the freezer. You could get what you needed to mend the fence and cook dinner all at the same time.

Blue tin cookware and overalls. Painter pants and aprons. Canned goods and saws. Wrenches and ceramic depictions of Jesus. A round of rat cheese next to pickled pigs’ feet and Slim Jims. Old men in rockers on the front porch; “My, my, look at how you’ve grown! Good golly, Billy Mac, she’s a weed!”

Where are those stores now? Where are those places where our beloved senior citizens can rock and keep an eye on the community? Do we honor them with a front row seat in our towns, or do we hide them away in politely titled places like “Senior Centers”?

Do we have stores or community places where it is safe for children to congregate with kids their own age, or to interact meaningfully with other generations? Do we make the children in our community feel welcomed or valued on a daily basis?

In our effort to grow Southwest Virginia, are we making the effort to retain what makes us unique?

-Lucinda McDermott Piro

If God forbade drinking, would He have made wine so good?
–Cardinal Richeleu

What to do for a wedding anniversary? It was a beautiful day. We didn’t want to be inside; we wanted access to food, wine, and song. Something beautiful, something romantic yet casual, not too fancy, accessible (meaning within an hour’s drive), and most important—affordable!

My daughter actually made the suggestion; “Why don’t you go to Château Morrisette?” BINGO! So I checked out the website and it just so happened that there was music on the lawn, and the lawn grill would be open. We packed up the blanket and headed toward Floyd. Then 45 minutes later, a glass of wine, sandwiches, a great singer/guitarist and time alone with the love of my life. Later we spread a blanket and watched the clouds morph in and out of formations framed by the Blue Ridge Mountains. We meandered on the Parkway (http://www.virginia.org/site/features.asp?featureid=183) and took some divine photos to document the moment. What don’t we do this more often? It’s like people I know who live at the beach and never take time to walk beside the ocean. What’s up with that?

Wine is bottled poetry.
–Robert Louis Stevenson

Its spring and that means concerts and tastings at local wineries! If you haven’t been to a winery tour and tasting . . . you’ve missed a very affordable good time. Virginia is one of the leading states in a growing wine industry. In 1979, there were only six wineries, but today our state can boast of more than 100! A September 2007 article in Travel and Leisure heralded Virginia Wineries as a rich undiscovered tourism secret. (http://www.travelandleisure.com/articles/virginia-unbridled/). I say it’s time to let the cat out of the bag!

Wine gives courage and makes men more apt for passion.
–Ovid

In and around Southwest Virginia there are 15 wineries listed on the Virginia Wines website (http://www.virginiawines.org/wineries/r-southwestern.html). Many of these wineries have either a restaurant or café connected with them, and feature events during the weekend. You don’t have to be of drinking age or even a wine drinker to enjoy what the wineries offer. Many are family run, built from the bottom up with not much more than a passionate dream. It’s a great thing to do with family or friends from out of town. Just go to a website and check out their events!

It is well to remember that there are five reasons for drinking: the arrival of a friend; one’s present or future thirst; the excellence of the wine; or any other reason.
–Latin saying

Often at the tastings it will be the owner doing the pouring, who can talk to you about the history and lore of the vineyard. I’ve discovered that there’s a lot more to wine than what ends up in my glass. Which is always half full. How ’bout yours?

I like best the wine drunk at the cost of others.
–Diogenes the Cynic
He who loves not wine, women and song remains a fool his whole life long.
–Martin Luther, 1777

Wineries at a glance:

Villa Appalachia - Great events. You could see this winery and Château Morrisette in one day. http://www.villaappalaccia.com/events.html

Amrhein Wines, Bent Mountain, VA. They have a chardonnay that’s a perfect summer sippin’ wine. You’ll find a lot of music events at their site (http://www.amrheinwinecellars.com/).

Davis Winery and Vineyard in Rural Retreat list a couple of events coming up. (http://www.dvwinery.com/)

Hands down, you’ll find a variety of music, film, and theatre happening at Château Morrisette (http://www.chateaumorrisette.com/). It wouldn’t be a bad idea for the other regional wineries to take a cue and generate some healthy competition along those lines.

–Lucinda McDermott Piro

Can you smell it? Spring is here!

That daffodil and clean, raw dirt smell with just a hint of bird song attached. Yes! Spring is finally here! Although on this particular day it’s hiding behind a gray cloud, I know it’s here. The forsythia is fairly bursting. Long wispy arms of yellow crazy and unkempt gesture “We’re Alive!” My neighbors and I are so grateful to see some kind of bloomin’ color that we’re all hesitant to trim back the wild growth.

Let’s be honest, it was a long winter! And we can’t really complain about the rain because hopefully we’re coming out of the drought that has wreaked havoc on our farmers. It’s all good. The bright green baby leaves are just starting to reveal themselves. The red shoots of my peonies have broken the surface as have my silver nancies. The iris leaves are promising purple, white, and yellow blooms. . . I’m so excited! Being able to garden was one of the things I truly missed when I lived in the city. Nothing calms me or centers me more than a few hours prepping my beds, getting my fingers in the earth, and figuring out what little surprises I’m going to plant for myself.

Come on home to Southwest Virginia and make your own personal garden.

–Lucinda McDermott Piro

Contra dancing!

No, it’s not Guerilla Street dancing or anti-square dancing. Frankly, I can’t describe it myself since I haven’t seen it yet, but I can’t wait to witness it. Not that I’m looking for someone . . . happily married here . . . but it sounds like a ton of fun! I first heard about the phenomenon of contra dancing about a year ago when I met Adina Gordon. She’s a caller for contra dances and was living in Radford at the time. Contra dance has been around, oh, a long time, and has a host of fans and followers throughout Virginia, and certainly in our Great Southwest Virginia. Okay, we don’t have the bars and the typical single scene you’ll find in NoVA, but frankly, this sounds even better; you get to meet people while doing something fun and active rather than getting and looking sloppy over several cosmos in a smoky environment. The best description I found for contra dancing is this from Sharon Barrett Kennedy at art-rageous.net:

“As to history, contra dancing is a traditional dance form that originated in Scotland and Ireland and in England. . . it’s just been in the last ten or twenty years that this style of dance has become popular from coast to coast. There are special contra dance weekends in various parts of the country, and even contra dance cruises! Some bands are nationally known in contra dance circles, and when groups such as “Swallowtail” or “Wild Asparagus” are playing at a festival, it’s not uncommon to have 200 or more people all dancing at the same time. The energy and enthusiasm that one experiences at these big dance festivals is absolutely incredible! Contra dancing appeals to a wide variety of people: I’ve danced with accountants and schoolteachers, with computer programmers and stone masons, with university professors and with grad students…

I’ve heard stories of couples that met through contra dancing. For those who want to meet others but hate the bar scene, and are uncomfortable with that awkward, “Say, come here often?”, contra dancing seems like the solution to having a great time and oh, by the way, maybe meeting someone. One site actually says, “Singles welcome!” (www.floydcontradance.org).

You can find contra dances through a couple of sites:

• http://www.twodogwaltz.com/contradance.html
• http://www.norfolk.folkdancer.com/VA.htm
• http://www.shawnbrenneman.com/index.html

Shawn Brennan is a dancer and a caller. You can access her calendar of gigs—man, this woman gets around! You’re more likely to find contra dancing opportunities in your area just from looking at her calendar. It looks like there are dances occurring at the Rock School in Damascus, but I got into a maze of Google and gave up. Maybe you’ll have better luck. For me, I’m going to head to Sun Theater at Winter Sun, 302 South Locust St. in Floyd, VA where Blue Ridge Country Dancers host community contra dances every second Saturday. They suggest that dress is casual, but I hear dress light! This is like a 3 hour aerobic workout! Wear soft flexible shoes for dancing. Don’t worry if you don’t know the steps. At every event callers teach each dance before they actually do it. The music is live, and it’s a great way to get to know people. Sound like a date to me!

–Lucinda McDermott Piro

What’s there to do after work in SWVA!?

Return to Roots recently facilitated focus groups on the campuses of Radford University and Virginia Tech. We wanted to know what would keep college grads here in Southwest Virginia. Hands down they all said; a happenin’ nightlife. Well, I wasn’t convinced we didn’t have that, so I went searching, determined to prove that we’ve got it all here in SWVA!

I was hurt.

I was disappointed.

But I’m not down yet!

I did find some night spots despite the perception that there aren’t any. There are a few! But man, did I have to search! So first of all, all you clubs and bars out there that have live music, for goodness sakes, get yourself a website! People are looking and they can’t find you! You can’t sell a secret!

And another thing: All you Chamber of Commerce’s and City Councils in SWVA. Encourage a night life! You are not going to have a younger generation to complain about if you don’t give them some place to go and something to do! Tight ABC laws and rents that are too high aren’t going to discourage immoral behavior, they’re discouraging young single professionals from wanting to live here. Lighten up and start the party!

Business entrepreneurs! Looking for that “Hole of Opportunity” in SWVA? It’s in Night Life. Create a funky, fun, happening eatery/bar that provides a range of live music NOT JUST COUNTRY OR BLUE GRASS, and you’ll make a mint!

Currently, here are some spots. If you’re not mentioned here—then get a website and contact Return to Roots at veb@vebinc.org!

• Gillie’s in Blacksburg has started having music on the weekends. Been there, and it’s a sweet little spot with great food, and a good beer and wine list. It’s small, so get there early. They’re getting an impressive line up of local and out-of-region bands and solo acts. I recently saw James Leva and Purgatory Mountain there. Awesome night out with my hubby. Dinner, drinks, and cover charge for two was under $50. The food is vegetarian, but don’t let that discourage those of you that like to eat something that had a mother. It’s tasty, filling, and you won’t miss the hog. For menu go to www.gilliescuisine.com. For info on music calendar and booking, go to myspace.com/gilliesmusic.
• Cafe del Sol in Floyd is a little place I’ve been watching grow over the past couple of years. Run by a Floyd family, it has true Floyd flavor; a little neo-hippy, organic, yet technology is cool thing going on. They feature local musicians in a very comfortable atmosphere. Check out their website for gigs. They have an open mic night as well. If you’re interested in booking your own band or self, give Sally a call at (540) 745-2287.
• 5 O’Clock Bar and Grill in Glade Spring, VA evidently gets some kickin’ pop-rock cover bands like Common Ground and Octane Overload. If you can find these bands MySpace pages, you can find what upcoming gigs they have and where in SWVA to go! Hey, if it was easy, it wouldn’t be any fun! Address and phone for 5 O’Clock is: 35025 Brittany Lee Dr., Glade Spring, VA 24340 (276) 429-2275
• Turn One Sports Bar in Wytheville, VA does have a website! Hurray! And they claim on it to have live music, but their April calendar looks blank . . . so give ‘em a call and ask what’s up.
• Although I’m trying to find spots that don’t just have country and blue grass (nothing wrong with these genres, I’m just trying to show that SWVA has options) I have to mention the Floyd Country Store, because if you haven’t been there, you’re really missing something.
• We’re heavy on Floyd, so I certainly hope we’ll incite the rest of SWVA to let us know about the hot spots out there . . . but I’d be remiss not to mention Odd Fellows Cantina. The food is just too good, the service always right on, and the music is well rounded and professional.
• State Line Bar & Grill, 644-8 State Street in Bristol, VA. Phone: (276) 652-0792. Advertises food as well as a full service bar and nightly entertainment.
• Village Cafe’ in Marion, VA at 1424 N. Main Street, located within the Best Western, is a restaurant and full service bar with live entertainment on the weekends.
• Poor Farm Casual Café at 411-413 East Main Street in Wise, VA rather intrigues me with the word “casual” in its title. I need to check this place out. Restaurant serving what sounds like a great menu, complete sports bar and live entertainment.

That’s all I’ve got! I hope there’s a huge uproar of night spots and eateries contacting Return to Roots to shout in a “Horton Hears a Hoo” sort of way “We’re here!”

–Lucinda McDermott Piro